any other statesman, we are indebted for the progress achieved in 1866 and 1867. He has eloquently expounded the principles of the Peace Society, and, without the influence he exerted in their favour, we question whether either the Alabama arbitration or the avoidance of war with Russia in 1878 would have been possible. We are not unmindful of the vast, and in many ways unique, power of Mr. Gladstone; but, while it has required his unrivalled genius to give to these principles legislative effect, it is to the eloquence of Mr. Bright that we owe the public opinion which no statesman can safely disregard. Some of Mr. Bright's most effective speeches are on India. On this question, as on others, he has ever been in advance of the opinion of the day, and it is remarkable to see how the intelligence and strength of the country are gradually coming to his side. Ireland has had no wiser and more generous counsellor. He pleaded for the removal of her wrongs even in days when the majority of Liberals were indifferent to them, and, for the sake of promoting her interests, willingly braved the wrath and vituperation of men whose only remedy for deep-seated wrongs is force. In the light of Mr. Bright's manly and outspoken speeches, both in Parliament and out, it is sickening to think of the abuse to which he, in common with other Liberal leaders, has recently been subjected by the so-called Irish party. Their attitude towards him is to us a plain proof that their demands are unjust, impracticable, and mischievous. After the heat of the controversy has passed away, and matters can be viewed with calmness, we have no doubt that intelligent and right-minded men of all parties will regard him with a respect as profound, and an enthusiasm as generous, as were shown to him by Irishmen of earlier days, when the most sanguine among them never dreamt of such vigorous and comprehensive measures as Mr. Gladstone has, with unrivalled genius and amid unparalleled difficulties, placed upon our statute books.

Mr. Bright is not, of course, a classical scholar. He can boast of little Latin and less Greek, but he is well versed in our English literature. His knowledge is not restricted to Shakespeare, Milton, and Byron; he is equally familiar with Chaucer, Spenser, Dryden, Johnson, Pope, Addison, Wordsworth, and with every other writer of note. The use of Scriptural imagery is a marked feature of his oratory, many of his most apt illustrations and most forcible appeals having been drawn direct from the Bible. He has a bold imagination

and a lively fancy. He is not so great a coiner of phrases as the late Lord Beaconsfield, nor so great a master of sarcasm. Of his humour there can be no doubt. Many of his comparisons will never be forgotten that of Mr. Disraeli to the quack at the country fair who sold pills which were good against earthquakes; that of Mr. Lowe and Mr. Horsman to the Scotch terrier, the epithet of Adullamites, and the "harassing legislation" of the Ten Commandments. Mr. Bright's language is drawn from "the pure wells of English undefiled." He has at command large stores of strong and racy Saxon, and, in speeches which satisfy the most stringent demands of logic and charm the most fastidious taste, he can sway a promiscuous audience as he pleases. His speeches-sometimes extemporaneousare generally carefully prepared, and he has throughout life acted on the advice given him in his early years by our venerable brother, the Rev. John Aldis. This incident was so memorable that we must record it at length. Mr. Aldis attended a meeting of the British and Foreign Bible Society in Rochdale, at which Mr. Bright, then under twenty-one years of age, spoke.

"The Rev. John Aldis, a Baptist minister of eminence-whose sons have of recent years won distinguished and unparalleled honours at Cambridge--has described his meeting with Mr. Bright on this occasion. In 1832 Mr. Aldis was stationed at Manchester, but he attended the Rochdale meeting above mentioned, and subsequently gave the following interesting reminiscence of Mr. Bright's appearance. Mr. Aldis was at a friend's house when John Bright arrived to accompany him to the meeting. Soon a slender, modest young gentleman came, who surprised me by his intelligence and thoughtfulness. I took his arm on the way to the meeting, and I thought he seemed nervous. I think it was his first public speech, at all events in such connexion. It was very eloquent and powerful, and carried away the meeting, but it was elaborate and memoriter. On our way back, as I congratulated him, he said that such efforts cost him too dear, and asked me how I spoke so easily. I then took the full advantage of my seniority to set forth my notions, which I need not repeat here, except this-that in his case, as in most, I thought it would be best not to burden the memory too much, but, having carefully prepared and committed any portions when special effect was desired, merely to put down other things in the desired order, leaving the wording of them to the moment. Years rolled away. I had entirely forgotten the name of the young friend when the Free Trade Bazaar was held in London. One of those engaged for it-Mr. Baker, of Stockport-calling on me, asked if I had called on Mr. Bright. I said I had not been able to attend the meetings, and did not personally know him at all. He replied, "You must, for I heard him say that you gave him his first lesson in public speaking." I went to a subsequent meeting, and recognised the young friend of 1832.'"

Keen as are Mr. Bright's intellectual powers, and brilliant as is his

oratory, his moral force is not less conspicuous, and to it he is unquestionably indebted for his hold upon the nation. His strength arises from his loyal obedience to his favourite motto," Be just, and fear not." It is this which induced him to labour for the extinction of the Corn Laws, for the political enfranchisement of the people, for a system of national education, for the abolition of Church rates, and the opening of the universities; which led him to protest against the selfishness and tyranny of the East India Company, the frequent recklessness of our foreign policy, and the barbarity of our wars; the secession of the Southern States of America, and the injustice of the Irish Church and the Land Laws. Near the close of the Crimean War, Mr. Bright sketched his own character in the House of Commons, and, though he has since accepted, at any rate, the honours of office, and is undoubtedly a statesman, the principal claim he made for himself then will not be denied him now.

"I am not, nor did I ever pretend to be, a statesman, and that character is so tainted and so equivocal in our day that I am not sure that a pure and honourable ambition would aspire to it. I have not enjoyed for thirty years, like these noble lords, the honours and emoluments of office. I have not set my sails to every passing breeze. I am a plain and simple citizen, sent here by one of the foremost constituencies of this empire, representing, feebly, perhaps, but honestly, I dare aver, the opinions of very many, and the true interests of all those who have sent me here. Let it not be said that I am alone in my condemnation of this war, and of this incapable and guilty administration. And even if I were alone, if mine were a solitary voice, raised amid the din of arms and the clamours of a venal press, I should have the consolation I have to-night, and which I hope will be mine to the last moment of my existence, the priceless consolation that no word of mine has tended to promote the squandering of my country's treasure, or the spilling of one single drop of my country's blood."

The Biblical Museum.*

J. STUART.

E have frequently called the attention of our readers to this invaluable work, whilst it has been in process of publication. It is now complete; and, as we survey the fifteen bright-looking volumes lying before us, we feel that our announcement of their completion should be * THE BIBLICAL MUSEUM: a Collection of Notes, Explanatory, Homiletic, and Illustrative, on the Holy Scriptures. In Fifteen Volumes. By James Comper Gray. London: Elliot Stock.

accompanied by a more than passing notice or an ordinary word of praise. We have from the first been impressed by the vastness of the labour which such a production must have entailed. The mere physical toil must have been enormous, and the mental toil incalculably more so. We are amazed at the patient plodding through many years to which these 5,752 compact pages, crammed with various and apposite information, so splendidly testify. Both the compiler and the public are to be congratulated. The labour has not been uselessly undertaken and maintained. On the contrary, the result is in every respect a noble one.

The title-page is accurately, though not, perhaps, exhaustively, descriptive of the work. A "Biblical Museum" it truly is, full of valuable and, in many instances, curious things, which any one engaged in expounding and enforcing the teaching of Scripture can easily put to use in his own way. The "Notes are at once critical and interpretative, and they usually embody the soundest results of modern research. Passages are carefully and judiciously selected for homiletic treatment, and outlines of such treatment are supplied in great profusion-to the number, indeed, of 12,000! Many of these outlines are original, and the instances in which they have been selected from the writings of others are faithfully marked, with the authors' names appended. Of course, they are not all of superior and of equal merit; but many of them are sufficiently suggestive, and are well fitted to give start and impetus to the preacher's or teacher's own thought. The illustrations are very numerous and of great variety. Many of these are anecdotal in form, and comprise appropriate and more or less striking incidents in human life vividly narrated, and capable of being reproduced in the pulpit or the class with great effect. Other illustrations are drawn from the laws, phenomena, and scenes of nature, from domestic and social relationships and experiences, and from a wide range both of prose and of poetic literature. Some 36,000 Scripture references have been introduced in such a way as to make the Word of God, in a large degree, to throw explanatory light upon itself. The sciences-including etymology, archæology, geography, &c.-have been laid under requisition. Each separate book of Scripture is preceded by an "Introduction," containing biographical notices of its author, the time when, and the purposes for which, it was written, and the peculiarities by which it is distinguished. Each "Introduction" is followed by a is followed by a "Synopsis," "Synopsis," frequently

arranged in two or three different forms, according to different authorities. The following extracts may be taken from the "Introduction" to the Gospel of John, omitting references. They will serve to show, not only how this important part of the work is executed, but also the manner in which the compiler has economised space by a perfectly intelligible abbreviation of words.

"I. AUTHOR.-John, 'the Divine,' called 'the beloved disciple' and one of the sons of thunder,' was s. of Zebidee and Salome. His fa. was a fisherman, prob. of Bethsaida, and apparently in good circumstances. His mother is said (Theophylact) to have been dau. of Joseph (Mary's husband) by a former wife.

John fol. his fa.'s occupation till his call to the Apostleship, at ab. twenty-five years of age. He remained with Christ till His ascension; was present at Council at Jerus, A.D. 49 or 50; is said to have gone to Asia M. as pastor of the Seven Churches; resided chiefly at Ephesus; was banished thence by Domitian, A.D. 95, to Patmos, where he wrote the Apocalypse; was recalled on accession of Nerva, A.D. 96; returned to Ephesus, where he died (Polycrates) ab. A.D. 100, aged ab. 100 years, in the third year of Trajan. [That he was thrown, prior to his exile, into a caldron of boiling oil, by order of Domitian, bef. the Porta Latina at Rome, rests mainly on the authority of Tertullian; not mentioned by Irenæus and Origen.] II. LANGUAGE. That it was written in Gk. is the unan. testimony of antiquity; but some moderns (as Salmasius) think there was a Heb. original, bec. the quots. fr. the O.T. are from the Heb. and not from the LXX. III. ORIGIN.-John often states that he records what he had seen and heard. IV. TIME.-Exact date uncertain, but prob. betw. A.D. 70-85 (Alford). Ab. half a cent. prob. intervened betw. Lu.'s Gos. and Jo.'s (Wordsworth). V. PLACE.-Ephesus (Irenæus, Jerome, and others). Some say Patmos ; and others, that it was dictated at Patmos, and published at Ephesus. VI. FOR WHOM WRITTEN.- -Mainly and ultimately for Christians, to build them up and confirm them in the faith of our Lord's Divinity. VII. PECULIARITIES.—1. Style.-(1) Purity of the Gk.; (2) Simplicity (Westcott's Intro.); Deepest truths in colloquial language (Alford); (3) Heb. cast of thought and expression; (4) Doctrinal. 2. Contents. Among the matters not in the other Gospels are, introduction and testimony of John i. 1-51; first mir.; first Passo.; visit of Nicodemus; last testy. of John; woman of Samaria and sec. mir.; sec. Passo.; discourse in the synagogue, vi. 25-71; discourse on His nature and office; raising of Laz. and sec. anointing; final discourse and prayer; incidents connected with the Resurrection. This Gos. may be considered in some measure supplementary to the others. Some, indeed, are disposed to deny that Jo. was acquainted with the works of the rest. But there is great antecedent improbability. Surely we may suppose them welcomed by the Church. They would soon circulate through Pales. and A. Minor. And, though some of the events narrated by the others are given by Jo., yet there are omissions in his work—as the Transfiguration—for which it is hard to acc. if he was not aware that this had been already chronicled."